Secondhand Heart

CHAPTER 6: " Stay With Me"

*what if I stay forever? What if there's no goodbye? Frozen for a moment here in time.
If you tell me the sky is falling, or say that the stars collide; the only thing that matters in my life
Is you and I tonight...*

Liz was determined to give Red a chance and had decided to go away with him over the weekend despite the nagging feeling that they were moving too fast. She really liked him and she was even starting to fall in love but the butterflies Liz felt in her stomach when he touched her made her sick. If she was perfectly honest with herself she had to admit that she was scared of committing to him.

"You won't regret it, it's wonderful out here," Red said when the car stopped in front of the small house.

"Yeah, it's also. . . dark," Liz commented carefully.

"You can appreciate the landscape tomorrow," he promised her, chuckling, and pressed a kiss to her cheek, "Now, come on."

Red left the car and retrieved the bags from the trunk, refusing to let Liz carry her own. It was cold inside the small house and she was sure it wouldn't heat up very quickly so she decided to keep her coat on for the time being. Getting a cold was the last thing she needed right now.

"I'm sorry, my friend keeps the heating low when no one's around. I'll turn it up and light a fire. Do you want to make us some tea?"

Liz nodded and trudged into the corner that was used as a kitchen. The house wasn't big, just a single room used as living room and kitchen, a bathroom and bedroom. She checked a couple of cupboards before she found the teabags and started heating up some water. When she turned around after a few minutes, holding a cup of tea in each hand, she found Red standing in the doorway, watching her.

"When are you going to lighten up?" he asked, taking one of the mugs from her.

"I don't know what you mean," Liz replied, walking past him to where he had spread a few blankets in front of the small, flickering fire. She quietly sat down.

Liz didn't react when he approached and let himself sink into the soft blankets next to her. Red took one of them and laid it around her shoulders.

"Thanks," Liz said, "I'll probably lighten up once this place gets a little warmer."

"I hope so, I've got a few things planned for tomorrow."

They sat in silence for a moment, watching the flames dance around the fireplace. Liz took a sip from her tea that was still too hot and set the mug aside. She scooted over, closer to Red and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you for bringing me here. I'm sure it's going to be a lovely weekend," she said softly and nuzzled against the fabric of his jumper.

He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer and kissed her hair.

"When are you doing to tell me what happened with your last boyfriend?" he asked out of the blue and Liz was sure he could feel her stiffen at the mention of him. She tried to relax in his embrace but didn't quite manage.

"I don't. . ."

"You don't wanna talk about it," he interrupted her.

"Yes."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be nosy, I just get the feeling that it would help me understand you. I mean, if it ended badly or. . ."

"Please," Liz begged quietly, hoping he would stop.

"If you still love him. . ."

"Shut up," she suddenly found herself yelling. Liz wrestled free of his embrace to look at him, "Please, just shut up. I don't want to talk about him."